Fluence Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNC) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Manavendra Sial: So Brian, you said it right. That is the thought in fact. If you look at our Slide 21, we are signing these then near at double-digit margins. So we feel very confident about getting to adjusted EBITDA breakeven for 2024 on the back of double-digit gross margins. And then from an operating leverage perspective, we believe that 2022 and with a high water mark as a percentage of revenue, and we expect to reduce that as a percentage of revenue given our OpEx will grow at less than half of the revenue growth.

Brian Lee: Okay. Great. Thanks, guys. I’ll pass it on.

Julian Nebreda: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from George Gianarikas with Canaccord Genuity. Your line is open.

George Gianarikas: Hey. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking my questions. So maybe I could start around your decision to manufacture packs in the U.S. Can you just talk about the incremental CapEx required to do that? The incremental hires you need to make, whether or not this will be a global move and whether or not this moves you away from an asset-light strategy. Thank you.

Julian Nebreda: Well, it’s the same strategic position we have today. We will use contracted manufacturing. So we will not be owning the manufacturing facility. We had invested in the design and the IP and the software but not €“ we will still be a capital-light business. This will be manufactured by our contract manufacturer provider. This is directed at the U.S. market. So we are — this — our current approach and the decisions that we will build, the Fluence make for the U.S. market at this stage, we’re not selling from the U.S. to third parties. We might, as we grow in other regions, we might also build it for Asia and Europe. As of today, it is only for the U.S. And we are — we believe that our capital light business model is — will continue.

We’re committed to it. We believe it’s a right way to do it. And one of the things that always surprised me is that the quality of the contracted manufacturing that is available in the U.S. what these people can do for you, how do you do and how much the value they can create out of it and we are very happy with our contracted manufacture.

George Gianarikas: Thank you. And maybe as a follow-up, could you discuss the cell supply situation and whether or not it’s improved incrementally over the last few months and what, if any, other equipment may be causing bottlenecks still for deployments? Thank you.

Julian Nebreda: Yeah. Thanks. The matter situation is improving. We haven’t had any delays. I know the market is tight generally. But our relationship with our suppliers, our ability to engage with them and our scale allows us to ensure we are ensure that we have no issue on the delivery of batteries on time and with the — on the terms that we are in. I will say that — that’s generally clearly a major part of our supply chain. I don’t see any other market where is tied that we’re concerned about. Clearly, we are confident. This is one of the reasons why we believe this scale is so important, in order to manage our supply chains effectively our scale and our close relationship with suppliers are huge.

George Gianarikas: Thanks.

Julian Nebreda: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Maheep Mandloi with Credit Suisse. Your line is open.

Maheep Mandloi: Hey. Good morning and thanks for taking our questions. Just maybe on the previous question. Could you understand like the difference between the Fluence stack and the fluids cube? Just trying to understand the core difference here. And part of that is just to get the domestic content added under the IRA, would the new systems qualify just with the battery pack manufacturing in the U.S. or would you have to procure the batteries from the U.S. market as well? Thanks.

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